The Fire Fountain Of Ba Sing Se
by Luna Cat Kitty
Summary: Two Dai Li agents have to patrol the streets of Ba Sing Se.  While at the Fire Fountain, they get an unexpected surprise.  One shot.


**Just something I thought of to kill my writer's block.  
>I own nothing. Except my two OCs. I own them.<strong>

**Enjoy and read and review.**

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><p>"I don't want to patrol District 27! Did you hear the stories?" Li waved his hands around frantically. Chen inched away from Li to avoid getting hit in the head.<p>

The senior agent rolled his eyes. "You're patrolling District 27 whether you like it or not." Li sighed dramatically. "Don't look at me. I'm not the one who caused the mess in the cafeteria."

Li rolled his eyes. "So the Grand Secretariat walked in the line of fire of my fruit pie. It's not my fault he has terrible timing." Chen heaved a heavy sigh.

"Either way, you're patrolling District 27."

This time Chen spoke. "Technically I had nothing to do with it, so why do I have to patrol. This is the first day off I've had in weeks."

The senior officer shrugged. "You have your partner Li to blame." Chen sighed once more.

The two disappointed agents walked out of the office and began to make their trek towards District 27.

"I can't believe this. District 27 is for the new recruits, not people like us who've been in the Dai Li for years." Chen mumbled. Li opened his mouth to speak. "Shut up Li."

Li walked in front of Chen and stopped him. "Did you hear the stories about District 27, especially around the Fire Fountain?" Chen rolled his eyes. "It's haunted! There are ghosts there! Paranormal activity runs rampant!"

Chen brushed past Li. "I don't believe in ghosts, and neither do you. They don't exist." He began to walk to the gate that led to the Lower Ring.

The two agents walked in silence as they neared the supposed paranormal District 27. They stayed in the shadows and watched the people as they passed. The lights in the restaurants and shops began to darken as the people slowly dwindled in numbers. Chen walked out of the shadows and into the now darkened streets. He looked up to see the starry sky above. He felt a presence behind him and sighed.

"Li, get out of my space." He felt the presence back away.

Chen looked behind to see Li towards the other side of the street. He raised an eyebrow but didn't question it.

"Chen, let's go. We've patrolled enough."

Chen shook his head. "We still have to patrol the Fire Fountain, than we can go home. No thanks to you."

"Let's hurry before the spooks come out."

"Li, there are no such things as ghosts. Drop it."

The Dai Li agents made their way to the Fire Fountain while keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity (and ghosts) along the way. They saw a warm light up ahead to where the Fire Fountain was. They rounded a corner and they saw the fountain with all the candles lit. Chen groaned and began to put out some of the candles. He motioned to a shaking Li to help. Soon after a few words about ghosts the candles were all out and the two agents began to walk back towards the street. Chen turned around to give the fountain one last look before leaving. He paused and grabbed Li and motioned towards the fountain. All the candles were lit like before.

"I told you there were ghosts! I told you! You didn't believe me!" Li grabbed Chen's shoulder and began to shake him while pointing towards the fountain.

"It's not ghosts. Just a bunch of dumb kids pulling pranks." Chen shoved Li off of him.

"How can a few kids light the entire thing without us noticing, huh?" Li pointed to the fountain for emphasis.

Chen scowled and began to put out the candles. He called Li over to help him. Li shook his head vigorously and stayed where he was. Chen looked back to the candles that he just put out. He let out a surprised gasp when he saw the candles lit.

"Chen!" Li called.

Chen scowled and began to put out all the candles once again, ignoring Li.

"Chen!"

The agent frowned deeper, continuing on his quest to put out all the candles, still ignoring his partner.

"Chen!"

Chen growled and quickly turned back in Li's direction. "What!"

He stopped suddenly. He couldn't see Li standing at the edge of the small cul-de-sac that the fountain sat in. Instead he saw the face of a young fire soldier standing before him. Chen gasped in surprise and leapt backwards, getting some distance between him and the threat.

Chen quickly got into a stance, ready to attack. He noticed Li standing further back, still shaking like before. He studied the fire soldier carefully, anticipating an attack. Chen wondered how the soldier even made it into the city in the first place. He waited for the enemy to attack, but nothing happened. He was just standing there.

Chen noticed that the nameless soldier wasn't standing in an offensive position. He also noticed the slight smile that made its home on the soldier's strangely calm face. Chen raised an eyebrow in confusion, still holding his ground. The Dai Li agent quickly leapt into action. He motioned for a slab of earth to come up where the intruder was standing. The soldier quickly and gracefully leapt out of harm's way. Chen frowned and sent a boulder flying at the man's chest. Once again he dodged out of the way. Chen growled slightly and sent a rock fist towards the soldier. The fire soldier ducked towards the pillar of earth from the first attack. He smiled and leaned on the pillar. Chen just stared at the odd soldier in bewilderment.

"Give up?" The voice was accompanied by a slight chuckle.

All Chen could do was stare slack jawed at the odd soldier. He took the time to notice specific features on him. He had small sideburns along with a top knot. Typical Fire Nation. He had golden eyes and a thin smile that seemed to be permanent. His armor seemed different though. He figured he was an officer. The cape and the fancy hair piece also helped him come to that conclusion. He wondered why an officer would be in the city in full uniform.

"Who are you?" Chen exclaimed.

The odd soldier smiled. "I'm just a regular soldier."

"A regular soldier in an officer's uniform." Chen stated.

The smile returned. "You're rather observant."

Chen's frown grew. "Who are you?" He demanded once again.

The soldier walked closer to Chen. The confused Dai Li agent stepped backwards until he was at the fountain. The odd fire soldier inched his face closer to Chen's. Chen leaned back until he fell backwards into the fountain. The soldier leaned over Chen and began to laugh. The soldier's laugh rang crisp and clear like a bell. All Chen could do was glare up at the laughing soldier.

"Can you recognize me now?"

Chen sat in the fountain, dripping wet. His face was red with anger and embarrassment towards the mixed up soldier. "No. I don't know who you are! I don't care! You're under arrest!"

The fire soldier sat on the edge of the fountain. "Didn't you try that earlier?" He laughed.

Chen let out a war cry and lunged at the fire soldier. He began to wrap his arms around the soldier's midsection but grabbed nothing. He continued flying and crashed ungracefully onto the hard ground. Chen sat where he was in shock. He turned behind to see the fire soldier still sitting where he was before, clutching his stomach in hard laughter.

Chen's eyes grew in confusion. The strange soldier walked towards him and stopped directly in front of the confused Dai Li agent. He leaned down to where he was at eye level and leaned in, as if telling a secret.

"If you really want to know, I'm Lu Ten." Chen's eyes widened. He knew of the dead prince from the failed siege. The smile grew on the supposed Lu Ten's face. "But don't tell anyone, it's a secret." The fire prince laughed while he put his finger to his lips, as if telling him to keep quiet.

Lu Ten stood up to his full height and began to walk to the lit Fire Fountain. The spirit prince looked back to Chen with his trademark smile. Chen blinked as the prince began to fade away into the candlelight.

Chen suddenly remembering Li was still there looked to where he last saw him. Li was still standing there, but with an expression of extreme shock, fright, and bewilderment. He was staring directly at the fountain.

The two met eyes for a few split seconds. Soon the two Dai Li agents ran as fast as they could away from the Fire Fountain.


End file.
